Everyone got a taste of Joba the Starter yesterday and boy was it great.
His performance was ok...3R and 5H in 4.1IP - but his stuff was off the charts.
Joba's 77th pitch was a 96 MPH fastball to David Jesus that the Royals' best hitter was able to foul off. Pitch 78 (his last) was a 76 MPH curve that came out of his hand a little too early for ball 4. 20 MPH separation...20! Roger Clemens used to talk about needing 12 MPH separation between heat and splitter for him to be at top effectiveness. 20!
Keep in mind, that the 20 MPH separation was almost 80 pitches into his day.
Once Joba gets a better feel for the pitches he neglected as a reliever (curve and change) we will see the results improve. The fact that he was still throwing 96 in the 5th inning is major reason to be optimistic.
